November 2, 2007

Honorable Teresa Bergeson
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Washington Department of Public Instruction
Old Capitol Building, Washington & Legion
P.O. Box 47200
Olympia, WA 98504-7200

Dear Dr. Bergeson:

Thank you for your timely submission of Washington’s corrective action plan outlining the steps Washington has taken and will take to resolve the compliance issues identified in the Special Conditions document issued with the State’s 2007 Title III, Part A grant award.

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) understands, based on Washington’s corrective action plan, that Washington failed to make accurate annual measurable achievement objective (AMAO) determinations for the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 school years because the State did not include AMAO 3 – adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the limited English proficient (LEP) subgroup – in making AMAO determinations. Washington provided an assurance to the Department that all required AMAO determinations will be made for future school years.

As a corrective action for failing to include AMAO 3 in AMAO determinations to date, the State proposes revising AMAO determinations for the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 school years. The Department finds this corrective action plan acceptable, with the following stipulations:

1)The State must notify its Title III local educational agencies (LEAs) and parents of current LEP/Title III students of the State’s failure to make AMAO determinations by not including AYP in accountability determinations for the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 school years. The notifications must assure its LEAs and parents that the State will make all required AMAO determinations for the 2006-07 school year and thereafter.

2)The State may decide to apply consequences retroactively to its LEAs based on the revised AMAO determinations for the 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06 school years. However, based on recent policy decisions, the Department is not requiring Washington to take this action.

3)The State must submit, to the extent possible, missing or revised Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) data to the Department’s Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN) reflecting the revised AMAO determinations made for previous school years. These data must be submitted to the Department by December 28, 2007. The Department recognizes that, based on corrective actions, it may not be possible to submit some data elements for previous years.

Please note that, by approving the State's corrective action plan, the Department approves only theactions the State will take to address findings identified in the Attachment T document issued with the State’s 2007 Title III, Part A grant award. This letter does not constitute an approval of the State’s specific method for making Title III AMAO determinations. The Department will continue to monitor Washington’s implementation of Title III program requirements, including the manner in which it complies with the requirements related to AMAOs, and, where appropriate, require corrective actions.

Ms. Lorena Dickerson, Education Program Specialist, OELA, will monitor Washington’s progress in completing these corrective actions. Please submit documentation and evidence demonstrating the completion of these actions to Ms. Dickerson. Upon receiving evidence that the State has completed the corrective actions outlined above, the Department will remove these conditions from the State’s 2007 Title III grant.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We appreciate your efforts to implement a high-quality Title III program to address the needs of LEP students in your State.

Sincerely,

Margarita P. Pinkos, Ed.D.

Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary

cc: Helen Malagon, Title III Director